GENESIS OF DISINTERESTED BENEVOLENCE. 735 



rise in the east and set in the west. But this is reversed in the case of 

 Vulcan. It rises in the west, and, after having been fifty-seven days 

 above the horizon of any point in which the plane of its orbit intersects 

 the sun's surface, must set in the east. 



But it is useless to speculate in regard to the elements of this 

 planet's orbit, its magnitude, physical constitution, etc. It ought cer- 

 tainly to be found near its greatest elongation by some of the powerful 

 telescopes now in use. When so detected a few observations will fur- 

 nish data for the complete determination of its period and distance, 

 together with the form and inclination of its orbit. 



The interesting observations of Prof. Watson and Mr. Swift will 

 not only stimulate astronomers to renewed search for the planet so 

 fortunately detected, but must lead also to a more thorough examina- 

 tion of the space within Mercury's orbit. It is not improbable that the 

 detection of Vulcan may be merely the first in a series of similar dis- 

 coveries. 1 The solar disk will doubtless be closely watched about Feb- 

 ruary llth-17th, March 19th-27th, and October lst-14th, as it has 

 been claimed that at these epochs small round spots have been seen 

 passing across the sun. In short, the prospect of planetary discoveries 

 in this part of the system is at present more hopeful than in the space 

 beyond the orbit of Neptune. 



---*- 



THE GENESIS OF DISINTERESTED BENEVOLENCE. 



By PAUL FEIEDMANN. 



DISINTERESTED benevolence, about the genesis of which so 

 much has been written, is a name for two distinguishable things. 

 It is in some cases meant to designate that feeling which prompts us in 

 a special instance to do good to some individual object. In other cases, 

 the same name is applied to the quality of the mind which predisposes 

 to all special benevolent impulses. But these two are of course not 

 the same thing, and when I inquire into their origin I shall have to 

 consider them separately. This, however, I shall do in an order the 

 reverse of that commonly adopted, beginning with the special senti- 

 ment, and then inquiring into the general quality of the mind. 



Benevolence, in the first sense, may be defined as the wish that the 

 object of this feeling may be well as the wish for the welfare of 

 something. In so far as, with a certain class of beings, welfare is ac- 

 companied by pleasure or happiness, benevolence is a wish for the 



1 It has frequently been noticed that astronomical discoveries occur in clusters, sepa- 

 rated by intervals comparatively fruitless in great results or important observations. Thus, 

 from the epoch of Cassini's discoveries to that of Sir William Herschel's nearly a cen- 

 tury no new planets, primary or secondary, were added to our system. 



